Traumatic injuries can be very painful and debilitating. In many cases, an early diagnosis of the damage significantly helps in prescribing proper treatment for alleviating the pain and minimizing the injury. Unlike some other types of traumatic injuries, injuries to joints frequently result in impaired or abnormal movement between the connected bone structure. For example, the extent of the damage or injury to a knee joint can be evaluated by observing the knee's ability to move the lower leg, i.e., the tibia, with respect to the upper leg, i.e., the femur. Additional information regarding the condition of the knee joint can be obtained by measuring the amount of displacement of the patella.
The patella or kneecap is a flat, triangular shaped bone which is positioned at an anterior portion of the knee joint which connects the femur to the tibia. The patella is attached and maintained in position at the anterior portion of the knee joint with ligaments and muscles. The primary purposes of the patella is to protect the front of the knee joint and increase the leverage of the quadriceps extensors. A main medical concern relating to the patella involves the tearing of the ligaments which retain the patella in position.
Typically, doctors will move the patella with their hand or X-ray the knee joint to evaluate the extent of the injury to the patella and/or the ligaments connecting the patella. However, doctors are not always able to quickly and accurately determine the extent of damage to the ligaments with an X-ray. Further, movement of the patella by hand is inaccurate and unreliable.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device which can accurately determine whether the ligaments which align the patella have been damaged. Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device can be used to quickly and accurately evaluate the extent of injury to the knee joint of a patient. Still another object of the present invention to provide a device which is relatively easy to use, is relatively safe to use and relatively inexpensive.